Ernest Tilson News Today

Behind the court cases, and pricey lawyers lay a story about relationships, sad humanities and dreary domestic dramas

A dispute crystalising the sectarianism and intolerance of mid-20th century Ireland split the country and became a cause celebre of the 1950s

On his way to his father’s funeral after 13 years’ exile in England, Ernest Tilson decided to call at his old stomping ground of Cole’s pub in Ballsbridge, Dublin, for a nostalgic pint. There he met his estranged father-in-law, John Barnes, and despite the public notoriety that had befallen both their families, the men sat in the pub together and decided to set the world to rights.